Impact of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Public Interest in the United States between 2012 and 2021: A Google Trends Analysis

Simple Summary In this study, we quantified public awareness regarding breast cancer associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) in October using Google Trends data and a joinpoint regression analysis. We analyzed the impact of BCAM, Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM), and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM) on public awareness of the top three most common cancers in the U.S. from 2012 to 2021 using the relative search volume of Google Trends. The results imply that BCAM has successfully improved the public awareness of breast cancer in the U.S., while LCAM and PCAM had no impact on the awareness of lung and prostate cancers. BCAM could serve as a good example for organizations working on health observances or awareness campaigns. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) has a long history of over 30 years, established in 1985 to occur every October, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation now leads the operation. There have been no studies to evaluate the impact of the BCAM on public awareness of breast cancer. We analyzed the impact of BCAM on public awareness of breast cancer in the U.S. from 2012 to 2021 using the relative search volume (RSV) of Google Trends as a surrogate. We also analyzed the impact of Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM) and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (PCAM) on public awareness of lung and prostate cancer, respectively, to see differences in their effectiveness among the health observances for the top three most common cancers in the U.S. We performed a joinpoint regression analysis to identify statistically significant time points of a change in trend. There were joinpoints around BCAM for "Breast cancer" every year from 2012 to 2021, with a significant increase in the weekly RSVs from 21.9% to 46.7%. Except for 2013 and 2015 for "Lung cancer", when significant increases in the RSV at 1.8% and 1.2% per week were observed around LCAM, no joinpoints were noted around LCAM or PCAM. These results imply that BCAM has successfully improved the public awareness of breast cancer in the U.S. compared to other representative health observances, likely due to the effective involvement of non-medical industries, influencers affected by breast cancer, and an awareness symbol

Clinical Characteristics, Racial Inequities, and Outcomes in Patients with Breast Cancer and COVID-19: A COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available for patients with breast cancer (BC) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially among underrepresented racial/ethnic populations. METHODS: This is a COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry-based retrospective cohort study of females with active or history of BC and laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection diagnosed between March 2020 and June 2021 in the US. Primary outcome was COVID-19 severity measured on a five-level ordinal scale, including none of the following complications, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, and all-cause mortality. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression model identified characteristics associated with COVID-19 severity. RESULTS: 1383 female patient records with BC and COVID-19 were included in the analysis, the median age was 61 years, and median follow-up was 90 days. Multivariable analysis revealed higher odds of COVID-19 severity for older age (aOR per decade, 1.48 [95% CI, 1.32-1.67]); Black patients (aOR 1.74; 95 CI 1.24-2.45), Asian Americans and Pacific Islander patients (aOR 3.40; 95 CI 1.70-6.79) and Other (aOR 2.97; 95 CI 1.71-5.17) racial/ethnic groups; worse ECOG performance status (ECOG PS ≥2: aOR, 7.78 [95% CI, 4.83-12.5]); pre-existing cardiovascular (aOR, 2.26 [95% CI, 1.63-3.15])/pulmonary comorbidities (aOR, 1.65 [95% CI, 1.20-2.29]); diabetes mellitus (aOR, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.66-3.04]); and active and progressing cancer (aOR, 12.5 [95% CI, 6.89-22.6]). Hispanic ethnicity, timing, and type of anti-cancer therapy modalities were not significantly associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. The total all-cause mortality and hospitalization rate for the entire cohort was 9% and 37%, respectively however, it varied according to the BC disease status. CONCLUSIONS: Using one of the largest registries on cancer and COVID-19, we identified patient and BC-related factors associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, underrepresented racial/ethnic patients experienced worse outcomes compared to non-Hispanic White patients. FUNDING: This study was partly supported by National Cancer Institute grant number P30 CA068485 to Tianyi Sun, Sanjay Mishra, Benjamin French, Jeremy L Warner; P30-CA046592 to Christopher R Friese; P30 CA023100 for Rana R McKay; P30-CA054174 for Pankil K Shah and Dimpy P Shah; KL2 TR002646 for Pankil Shah and the American Cancer Society and Hope Foundation for Cancer Research (MRSG-16-152-01-CCE) and P30-CA054174 for Dimpy P Shah. REDCap is developed and supported by Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research grant support (UL1 TR000445 from NCATS/NIH). The funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit it for publication. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: CCC19 registry is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04354701

Thymomas and Thymic Carcinomas: A Review on Pathology, Presentation, Staging, Treatment, and Novel Systemic Therapies

Although thymomas and thymic carcinomas only represent 0.2–1.5% of all malignancies, they are the most common tumour found in the anterior mediastinum. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of thymic epithelial tumours was revised and a new tumour, node, and metastasis (TNM) staging system is currently being developed. Nearly a third of patients with thymoma present with paraneoplastic syndromes, most commonly myasthenia gravis. Thymic carcinomas are rarely associated with paraneoplastic syndromes, with patients often presenting with local symptoms. Recommendations for the management of these tumours are primarily based on small prospective studies, meta-analyses, and expert guidelines. The development of novel therapies to treat thymomas and thymic carcinomas is an area of robust research

Racial Disparities in Patient-Provider Communication During Telehealth Visits Versus Face-to-face Visits Among Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Patients With Cancer: Cross-sectional Analysis

BackgroundTelehealth visits increase patients’ access to care and are often rated as “just as good” as face-to-face visits by oncology patients. Telehealth visits have become increasingly more common in the care of patients with cancer since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Asians and Pacific Islanders are two of the fastest growing racial groups in the United States, but there are few studies assessing patient satisfaction with telemedicine among these two racial groups. ObjectiveOur objective was to compare satisfaction with communication during telehealth visits versus face-to-face visits among oncology patients, with a specific focus on Asian patients and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) patients. MethodsWe surveyed a racially diverse group of patients who were treated at community cancer centers in Hawaii and had recently experienced a face-to-face visit or telehealth visit. Questions for assessing satisfaction with patient-physician communication were adapted from a previously published study of cancer survivors. Variables that impact communication, including age, sex, household income, education level, and cancer type and stage, were captured. Multivariable logistic models for patient satisfaction were created, with adjustments for sociodemographic factors. ResultsParticipants who attended a face-to-face visit reported higher levels of satisfaction in all communication measures than those reported by participants who underwent a telehealth encounter. The univariate analysis revealed lower levels of satisfaction during telehealth visits among Asian participants and NHOPI participants compared to those among White participants for all measures of communication (eg, when asked to what degree “[y]our physician listened carefully to you”). Asian patients and NHOPI patients were significantly less likely than White patients to strongly agree with the statement (P<.004 and P<.007, respectively). Racial differences in satisfaction with communication persisted in the multivariate analysis even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. There were no significant racial differences in communication during face-to-face visits. ConclusionsAsian patients and NHOPI patients were significantly less content with patient-physician communication during telehealth visits when compared to White patients. This difference among racial groups was not seen in face-to-face visits. The observation that telehealth increases racial disparities in health care satisfaction should prompt further exploration

ASGE Guideline on the role of endoscopy in the diagnosis of malignancy in biliary strictures of undetermined etiology: Summary and Recommendations.

This clinical practice guideline from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) provides an evidence-based approach for the diagnosis of malignancy in patients with biliary strictures of undetermined etiology. This document was developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework and addresses the role of fluoroscopic-guided biopsies, brush cytology, cholangioscopy, and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in the diagnosis of malignancy in patients with biliary strictures. In the endoscopic work-up of these patients, we suggest the use of fluoroscopic-guided biopsies in addition to brush cytology over brush cytology alone, especially for hilar strictures. Especially for patients with, non-diagnostic sampling we suggest the use of cholangioscopic and EUS-guided biopsies; the former for non-distal and the latter for distal strictures or those with suspected spread to surrounding lymph nodes and other structures

ASGE Guideline on role of endoscopy in the diagnosis of malignancy in biliary strictures of undetermined etiology: Methodology and Review of Evidence.

Biliary strictures of undetermined etiology pose a diagnostic challenge for endoscopists. Despite advances in technology, diagnosing malignancy in biliary strictures often requires multiple procedures. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was used to rigorously review and synthesize the available literature on strategies used to diagnose undetermined biliary strictures. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis of each diagnostic modality, including fluoroscopic-guided biopsies, brush cytology, cholangioscopy, and endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration or biopsy, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) Standards of Practice committee provides this guideline on modalities used to diagnose biliary strictures of undetermined etiology. This document summarizes the methods used in the GRADE analysis to make recommendations, while the Summary and Recommendations document contains a concise summary of our findings and final recommendations

A Systematic Framework to Rapidly Obtain Data on Patients with Cancer and COVID-19:CCC19 Governance, Protocol, and Quality Assurance

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, formal frameworks to collect data about affected patients were lacking. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to collect granular data on patients with cancer and COVID-19 at scale and as rapidly as possible. CCC19 has grown from five initial institutions to 125 institutions with &gt;400 collaborators. More than 5,000 cases with complete baseline data have been accrued. Future directions include increased electronic health record integration for direct data ingestion, expansion to additional domestic and international sites, more intentional patient involvement, and granular analyses of still-unanswered questions related to cancer subtypes and treatments